Quote:Actually, I agree with you as for Dyson commenting on climate science. He routinely claims to not know much about it. My synergy with Dyson is in the understanding of what is science, as opposed to what Hansen is doing.He routinely claims not to know much about it... and then throws the considerable weight of his opinion behind trashing it in public and in print.
I'm not going to say that scientists should simply stay in their own narrow field and never, ever look out at the world (quite the opposite), but it strikes me as irresponsible to not just express skepticism, but mount a full on attack on an entire discipline without actually doing the legwork. Even incredibly brilliant scientists have made painful blunders when making bold, public declarations about things outside their expertise. Genius is not universally transferable. If it was, Gary Kasparov wouldn't be a kook.
I can see the case that Hansen is doing things, in addition to science, that you don't think he should be. I'm not sure I understand how he isn't doing science.
As for being skeptical in the same mould as Dyson, I'm not sure why that would be a really good thing. Dyson is a non-expert whose opinion is taken seriously because of his staggering intellect. If you don't have his genius, but share his lack of expertise, what exactly are you bringing to the table to make these strong judgments? Your gut instinct?
-Jester